Believe Nothing, See Everything
The first game relied heavily on gadgetry, as did its successors to a degree. I can't speak for the 360 version of Double Agent, but even the PS2 DA had a lot more mobility, but it was still in the vein of the game play setup of Chaos Theory.
Chaos Theory was the pinnacle of the total stealth style. Stealth is still handy and practical in Conviction, but the point is they know you are lurking, they even taunt you, and some of their taunts are quite crude in language. Not that I mind totally, but it makes taking them out a sight more satisfying when they don't see me coming too.
All the same some times the direct approach is necessary too.
Gadget wise at the start its quite limiting, but that's the way since Sam isn't packing a 3E loadout anymore. If anything was ever upgraded in the old games on the older systems it wasn't by much.
Those gadgets fit the games and the situations you faced as Sam. Now they are packing more than usual so you'll have to do the same as Sam.
The flashback sequences are few, but both regardless of length establish the deepness of Sam's bonds with both his friend and his daughter. Despite what Anna ('Grim') said about Sarah early on, I refused like Sam to believe that her 'death' wasn't as true as it appeared to.
That's what really broke Sam... losing Sarah... as Vic said Sarah is the one thing that kept Sam human. There's a deep symbolism in Sam tossing the tri-goggles into the water in the Iceland Outro cut scene. Its casting off with all the things that made him a Splinter Cell.
He went off the deep end and you went with him.
He infiltrated a terrorist organization only to become the next target when it was done with. He lost his handler, his friend Lambert, but it seems both he and Anna were in the on cover-up surrounding what really happen to Sarah.
True to the review title, I believed nothing and saw everything.
I didn't believe Grim even after seeing the lie unravel to reveal a darker truth than I ever thought possible. Yet somehow things always get worse before they get better
Find out how deep the hole goes when suddenly there really is something... someone to lose... and yet that is only the beginning when going in too deep as usual.
As for Co-op, I didn't get into it in the past games so its going to be a new thing for me should I actually find someone who wants to go through that storyline with me. I am curious to see how it plays out especially after finding and upgrading everything available to Sam in the Single Player Campaign.
I learned from a guide that certain weapons can only be obtained in co-op or maps based on the levels from the co-op missions. If you are going for the achievements surrounding the gadgets and weapons - you would need to explore the game in its entirety.
The challenges are the only way to earn points for upgrades in-game as I discovered rather quickly. The upgrades enhance everything you carry in the load-out. The mark and execute ability is a new feature as well as having visibility/invisibility depends on Sam being black/white instead of showing in colors.
Several voice actors including Michael Ironside are back.